The agriculture industry has significantly changed in the last few decades. Less and less farmers are feeding more and more people. To this end, labor saving devices are in higher demand so that less labor is required to perform the same functions.
The use of grain bags for storing grain is now a standard industry practice, especially on North and South American farms. The grain bags are large plastic bags in which the grain is stored in the winter months. The grain is placed into the grain bags using grain bagger machines that push the grain into the bags. The bags are then sealed. To unload the bags, a grain unloader machine is used. These grain unloader machines use either augers or suction to pull the grain from the bag. The grain is then conveyed to a truck for transport to a processing facility.
One problem with grain bags is their size—they range from anywhere from 9 to 12 feet in diameter and can be 200 to 500 feet in length. While they necessarily have to be such large sizes, once these bags are emptied of their contents, disposing of the grain bags themselves can be problematic. There are now initiatives for recycling these bags. However, given the size of these grain bags, gathering these up can be difficult and transporting the bags can similarly be difficult if these are not properly rolled up or otherwise neatly packaged.
Currently, after the bags have been emptied, the bags are manually rolled up into rolls and hauled, by way of tractors or forklifts, onto trucks for transportation to a recycling center or for disposal. There are devices available that allow users to roll up the used grain bags after they are laid flat on the ground. Some unloader machines are equipped with rolling mechanisms that roll up the used bags once the bags have been emptied. Other unloader machines are even equipped with mechanisms that roll up the bags as they are being emptied. However, some of these mechanisms are not very convenient. Some mechanisms require that the rolled up grain bag be unrolled from the non-removable spindle attached to the unloader machine. Other mechanisms produce two rolls from a single grain bag, thereby doubling the amount of work required to dispose of the used grain bag. All of these mechanisms require that the rolled up used grain bags be manually loaded on to the transport before disposal. As can be imagined, the manual loading of large rolled up plastic grain bags is not an easy task. This labor dramatically increases when bags are not rolled up tightly. It should also be noted that bags which have not been tightly rolled up are much more vulnerable to rodent infestation.
Based on the above, there is therefore a need for methods, devices, and systems which mitigate if not overcome the problems with the prior art.